The Joel Embiid saga in Philadelphia continues to be an interesting one.

At this point in the process – a full 13 months since the 76ers selected Embiid with the 3rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft – no one seems quite sure what exactly is going on with the seven footer, and even less sure when we may actually see him out on the court.

Eighteen days ago, after several weeks of speculation and reports, the Sixers announced that Joel would be undergoing surgery on his troublesome right foot, likely within 7-10 days. He was by all accounts ruled out for the entirety of the 2015-16; his second straight full season on the shelf. Obviously that timeline has passed, and there is still no news about a surgery.

In fact, the only pieces of recent Embiid news came from a report via The Daily News’ Bob Cooney; a video by TMZ Sports and Tweets from 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil.

Last Sunday, Shaq touched off a highly entertaining Instagram battle with Scottie Pippen when he wrote that the all-time Lakers squad (Shaq, Kobe Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) would beat the best five in Bulls history (Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant and Derrick Rose)—by 50 points.

This post is not going to chose a side in that Lakers vs. Bulls debate that has lasted all week (FYI: After 50,000 simulations by PredictionMachine.com, the Lakers were declared the better team as they won 64% of the simulated games.). Instead, this article will strongly suggest that an All-Time 76ers team comprised of — Allen Iverson; Julius Erving; Moses Malone; Charles Barkley and Wilt Chamberlain — would defeat both the All-Time Lakers and the All-Time Bulls teams.

You hope that, at some point, the kid can contribute, but unfortunately at this point we don’t know when that may be. In the mean time, the Sixers further fortified their frontcourt by selecting Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick in the 2015 Draft. Okafor, whose selection was viewed by many as Embiid insurance, is ready to hit the ground running, and will be the beneficiary of increased opportunity due to Embiid’s extended absence.

Okaforsaidthat his role is not impacted by Embiid’s status.

“It doesn’t,” he replied flatly when asked how Embiid’s being sidelined affected his role heading into the season.

“My role is to dominate,” Okafor continued. “I’m one of the centerpieces of the team, so my role is the same.”

Jordan McRae scored 19 points, Furkan Aldemir was a beast on the glass, Jerami Grant posterized a defender and the Summer Sixers staged a gutsy comeback on Thursday night. Still, what really stood out last night was just how sloppy and slow the summer squad played for a large majority of their 84-78 OT loss to the Summer Jazz.

The Summer Sixers turned the ball over 26 times, shot 23% from three, committed 31 fouls, played horrific transition defense and in general looked very tired. In short, they were simply brutal for three quarters. A miraculous 4th Q turn around allowed the Summer Sixers put on a 20-7 run and grab a 74-68 lead. However, the Jazz refused to lose in front of the home crowd and outscored the Summer Sixers 18-4 over the final minutes of the game (regulation & OT) to post the win.

After the jump, a few observations from the final game of the Utah Jazz Summer League.

The epitaph is a nod to the fact that Penny’s career has passed, hence the storm being over. The shoe released in 2012, well after Hardaway’s retirement from the NBA, and served as an ode of sorts (It was clearly modeled after the Air Penny II – Penny’s most popular model).

The sentiment is nice, but realistically it probably would have been better-suited for Allen Iverson. Iverson blew through the NBA like an unprecedented, unrelenting tornado, felt by everyone across the league’s landscape. And, like some squalls of such magnitude, the storm that was Allen Iverson –the dominant NBA player –ended rather abruptly.

In Game 1 of the Utah Jazz Summer League, rookie Jahlil Okafor scored 20 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and a blocked a pair of shots, so it came as no surprise that all of Philadunkia nation was watching closely to see what Jahlil would do last night against the Celtics in Game 2 of Summer Sixers action. Okafor played solidly last night (13 & 9), but it was Turkish legend Furkan Aldemir that pushed the Summer Sixers to a 76-62 victory over the C’s.

Aldemir, who showed limited abilities in 41 games with the 76ers in 2014-15, scored 11 points (all in the 4th Q and thanks to 3 of 5 shooting from deep), snagged 14 boards and blocked 3 shots. In short, Aldemir was impressive and stole the show from Jahlil.

After the jump, observations from Game 2 of the Utah Jazz Summer League.

When I woke up this morning and read the 76ers news on Twitter, I laughed…I smiled…and I cried a little (for Vlade Divac). In the over night hours, Hinkiepalooza struck again. This time Sam fleeced the Kings of Nik Stauskas (fomer No. 8 overall pick in 2014 Draft); power forwards Carl Landry and Jason Thompson, a 2018 protected top-10 pick and the right to swap first-round picks in 2016 and 2017.

The Kings will receive the rights to two of the Sixers’ 2015 second-round draft picks — Arturas Gudaitis (47th) and Luka Mitrovic (60th).

Obviously this a tremendous deal for the 76ers as they acquire a very good shooter and numerous “assets” for the future. Still, if you dig a little deeper and look at the trade’s impact on the 2015-16 season, the move does create a log-jam at shooting guard — Jordan McRae, Stauskas and Hollis Thompson (2015-16 is non-guaranteed) if you dare.

As the 76ers head into July’s Summer Leagues, the team’s projected regular season roster remains filled with holes. The recently-passed 2015 NBA Draft may have actually provided more questions than answers regarding the rebuild.

The organization’s selection of Jahlil Okafor with the third overall pick added to the team’s overall talent pool and frontcourt depth, but it did not address its overall lack of reliable perimeter play. Okafor has monster potential, and was probably the right choice given the circumstances, as the team remains far from formed; he has a real chance to blossom into an All-Star in Philly. But, while the team has now established considerable depth amongst its big men, there remains a dearth of guard play.

Early projections would likely have the team’s best long-distance threat, Robert Covington and the ever-improving Nerlens Noel slotted as the starting forwards, while newcomer Okafor holds down the center spot. But what about the backcourt spots?

The 2015 NBA Draft turned out be one of the most boring draft nights in recent memory, but 76ers General Manager Sam Hinkie didn’t let the bland nature of last night stop him from using his six draft picks to bring home six players who stand 6’6 or taller. Included in Hinkie’s haul for 2015 were a franchise level big man; two draft and stash European players; a first-team All-MAC Conference power forward; an ACC prospect who plays above the rim; and a third European prospect who many feel is NBA ready right now.

The 2015 NBA Draft will certainly not be remembered as an exciting, whirlwind, Hinkiepalooza style event that we have come to expect from the 76ers chief basketball decision maker. However when we look back years from now we could view the 2015 Draft as a key turning point in this franchise’s fortunes.

The 2015 NBA Draft is just hours away and the top basketball prospects from around the world have gathered in New York City in hopes of hearing Adam Silver call their name tonight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Among the 19 players invited to gather in the green room during the NBA Draft are top talents such as Karl Anthony-Towns (Kentucky), Jahlil Okafor (Duke), D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State), and Emmanuel Mudiay (Congo). There is no doubt all of these guys have earned their invitation to the green room and will be called on stage early tonight.

However, there is always one prospect sweating it out and cursing his agent as name after name is called and he is left to fiddle with his smart phone in the green room. For that player, this draft night experience will be torture. For us as viewers, it will be very uncomfortable to witness. Think Jameer Nelson at the 2004 NBA Draft.

So the question here is who will be the last man sitting in the green room at the 2015 NBA Draft?